Farewell to a Friend ★

so i actually meant to post this yesterday but when i got home i was really tired and just ended up watching a DVD and going to bed!

those of you that are regular readers of my blog will have seen me mention my friend Charlotte quite a few times (as well as posting links to her blog - Loretta Jane's Vintage Boutique)

she's a total 50's fashionista who loves all things pinup and vintage just like me, 

she's one of my best friends and subsequently one of the only friends i ever really hang out with here on the Isle of Man (i'm not very social but she's a fab shopping buddy because we both love the same stuff)

anyway, she is moving back to Sheffield tomorrow which means i won't see her again for aaaaaaaages!

i'm sad because she's only lived here for about 12 months and i sure am going to miss her! 

but i know she has to do what's right for her + her family because it just so happens that she is pregnant and expecting her first child (due in August) which is part of the reason why her + her husband Rob are moving back to their home town of Sheffield.

i got to say my goodbyes yesterday when we met up for a farewell lunch at the Alpine (after all, where else would we go?!) 

it's her Birthday in a few days so i had to hand over her present as well

here's the super duper Pinup gift bag i've had since my trip to Ireland last Summer! i bought the bag on my first day in Dublin, i hadn't got Charlotte a present yet but i just knew she had to have that gift bag!

isn't it cute! pinup perfection!!!

it wasn't her Birthday yesterday but i let her open the presents anyway since she won't be here for her actual Birthday

yay for presents!

and bless her! Charlotte got ME a present as well!!!

as soon as i walked into the Alpine she held out this gorgeous bracelet for me to put on straight away

it's like a Juicy Couture style charm bracelet with a stiletto heel, a sparkly 'J' and even a little cupcake charm!!!

just like the cupcakes i've been drawing lately it even has pink icing and a cherry on top!!!

i LOVE it!

speaking of cupcakes, i treated myself to one of the yummy freshly made cupcakes in the Alpine (the picture is quite fuzzy but i think you can still appreciate how cute it is)

yum yum!

after lunch we wandered around some of our fave shops in Douglas before parting ways in the afternoon

i really really REALLY am going to miss her! but i guess Sheffield isn't too far away, it's kind of like when my friends from college all went off to uni in the UK and i still talk to them all the time via skype and facebook so i know we'll stay in touch

have a safe trip home Charlotte + thanks for being such a super duper friend x

* * *

in other news...

i got an email yesterday in broken English/Italian from one of my blog followers asking about the little cupcake painting i did for my college exhibition

i guess i never really posted anything about it so here's a little photo (it's not great quality but it's the best my camera could do)

technically it's still not quite finished, there's a bit more shading that needs to be added to the icing but i had to have it ready for the exhibition so i ran out of time, i'm hoping to stock up on more of these mini canvases while i'm across in Coventry so who knows, i might even put a few of them up for sale on my etsy shop

the email also asked about the little cupcake embroideries i posted about ages ago

they're both fully finished now and will remain in the embroidery hoops since i think the hoops frame the pieces rather nicely

thanks for the email anyway, molto grazie xX

* * *

i meant to post this yesterday as well,

a blog i follow called 'popartrockgirlyeah' chose me as their Friday 'TwitPick' via twitter and did a mini post on me including one of my cupcake pictures

here's the post - Friday TwitPick Jade Boylan

big thanks to Michaela for picking me, i've added a little homemade 'pargy' banner (using the fab pargy illustration by Liz Adams) to the sidebar of my blog by way of thanks

you can check out her awesome blog here - popartrockgirlyeah

* * *

and that's pretty much it for today, i'm on the early morning boat tomorrow across to Heysham then it's a couple of hours drive to Coventry to see my sister + her family 

my mum finally persuaded me to come with her by promising me a day in Birmingham

i still have commissions to finish though so i'll be spending a few days in the hotel by myself while i get everything done

no rest for the wicked! even on holiday...

ok time for some tea now

that's all folks...

 ◕‿◕ ♥ xX

Ευχαριστώ πολύ και aντίο

(that's thank you and goodbye in Greek on behalf of Cyprus, i visited Cyprus when i was little so i'm afraid i don't remember too much about it, i remember the sunshine and the beach though... i really must have been young! hopefully i'll get to go back there one day and see it properly Ευχαριστώ ♥)